152 Best Restaurants in London, England

Gastro god Jason Atherton may not man the stoves here anymore, but his flagship in a cute Dickensian alleyway off Regent Street still knocks the London dining scene for a loop. Fans can enjoy refined small and large dishes ranging from a "Fruite of the Sea" appetizer to sublime braised neck of lamb with neeps, tatties, and a haggis sauce.

This eatery strikes a balance between trendy and traditional with retro-diner style and efficient service. The specialty is fish-and-chips, but if fish isn't your thing, try the free-range grilled chicken.

Owned by three brothers who grew up on a farm (which supplies the restaurant with its produce and livestock), Rabbit introduces a note of rusticity to one of London's glitziest areas. The emphasis is on locality and sustainability, and the menu changes daily, depending on what's in season and available. Plates are tapas-style and designed for sharing, but dishes like braised rabbit with duck liver, bucatina, and cognac cream are hearty enough to be quite filling. The weekday set lunch (£22 for three courses) is a bargain.

You feel like quite the foodie insider once you finally track down the quirky Rochelle Canteen—it's set in a former bike shed at the Victorian-era Rochelle School. Ring the buzzer next to a blue door, go through the "Boys" entrance, and enter the long white canteen, where you'll enjoy gloriously understated British fare ranging from deviled kidneys on toast to Yorkshire ham and parsley sauce. Bump along with the Frieze London art crowd, and enjoy guinea fowl with bacon or skate and capers, and finish with quince jelly or lemon posset.

This "greasy spoon without the grease" has become a neighborhood hot spot thanks to its modern reinterpretation of traditional British “caff” food (with the nontraditional additions of a wine list, vegan options, newspapers, and books) as well as its well-connected owners (the restaurant was officially opened by local resident Helena Bonham Carter and the vintage jukebox is “curated” by none other than Robert Plant). Lunch and dinner options feature healthy, homemade takes on British comfort food like bangers-and-mash with onion gravy, salmon fish cakes, and mac-and-cheese. There's also the option of interesting salads like grilled halloumi cheese with heritage carrots and oranges, while breakfast offers a vegan Full English. The ambience is a cross between an American diner and a Parisian bistro, and the service is welcoming if sometimes erratic.

You can feel the history at this 1889 art deco dining powerhouse, which has wined and dined everyone from Oscar Wilde to Marilyn Monroe. Nowadays it caters to business barons, well-heeled West Enders, and wealthy tourists, who come for the Grill's famed table-side silver serving trolley, which might trundle up laden with roast beef or a saddle of lamb. Savoy signatures like omelet Arnold Bennett (with smoked haddock, cream, and Parmesan cheese) or Peach Melba dessert always impress, as do other timeless classics like Chateaubriand steaks and lobster Thermidor.

Imposing doormen in bowler hats greet visitors with a wee nod at this ever-fashionable seafood haven on Mount Street in Mayfair. Originally founded in 1851 in the Haymarket, and a former haunt of James Bond author Ian Fleming (he apparently enjoyed the potted shrimps), Scott's draws the wealthiest of London, who come for the fresh Lindisfarne oysters, Dover sole, and tasty shrimp burgers. Prices could make a Saudi sheikh blanch, but that's the price to pay for what many consider the hottest table in town.

This hole-in-the-wall restaurant, a neighborhood favorite for more than 30 years, is an amazing bargain for this pricey part of town, serving good basic Chinese food at reasonable prices. Standouts on the extensive menu include ma-po tofu, barbecued pork with noodles, and seafood ho-fun. It’s not fancy, but service is fast.

Established in 1889 not far from St. Paul's Cathedral, little seems to have changed since the height of the British Empire at this quirky eatery. Although there are some things Sweetings doesn't do (dinner, reservations, coffee, or weekends), it does, mercifully, do great seafood. Sit at raised linen-covered counters and chase down the Dover sole, skate wings, and whitebait with tankards of Guinness and champagne "Black Velvet." Regulars love the potted shrimps and West Mersea oysters, and be sure to finish off with the jam roll or spotted dick.

Exceptional Brit-focused fish and meat dishes at wallet-friendly prices fly out of the open kitchen at this permanently packed, no-reservations (apart from Sunday lunchtime) gastropub in Southwark. Steamed Icelandic cod fillet with gratin dauphinois and tapenade, roast and confit duck with grilled semolina gnocchi and braised chicory, and a three-cheese and hazelnut soufflé with winter greens and cream punch above their weight in terms of taste and tenderness. Mains are well priced at £18–£25, but keep in mind it's noisy, usually packed, and you may have to wait for (and then share) a table. That said, there are great dishes to share—like the seven-hour lamb shoulder with root vegetables or a cassoulet.

Glide past the parked royal-blue Armstrong Siddeley, through the foyer of the five-star hotel The Beaumont, and into the swank art deco--inspired dining salon of The Colony grill room. Fans of 1920s New York will admire the throwback decor before digging into classics like steak tartare, Caesar salad, and bananas Foster. There's also fine shrimp cocktail, pancakes at brunch, and Suffolk Wagyu beef from the grill. The exemplary service is, naturally, from a gilded age.

You'll land some of the best fish-and-chips in town at this British chippy in a retro 1914 art deco café. Marylebone locals and satisfied tourists alike hunker down for the neatly prepared and decidedly nongreasy deep-fried or steamed battered cod, haddock, and plaice; the classic hand-cut Maris Piper chips; and the traditional mushy peas and homemade tartar sauce. Homemade cod fishcakes, skate wings, feta cheese fritters, and breaded scampi tails are on the menu, too.

This informal eatery serves scrumptious Asian fast food in generous portions at reasonable prices. Popular with students from the many nearby universities, the accent is on freshly prepared, flavorful fare—from sushi and ramen to tempura and delicious noodle and rice dishes.

Despite a Michelin star and a co-owner who's also the chef at one of Britain's (and indeed the world's) top restaurants, this is a relaxed neighborhood gastropub with an unusually fine kitchen. It specializes in British produce, wild food, and especially game, with dishes like root vegetable salad or a slow-cooked fallow deer shoulder wrapped in bacon, all served via set menus only (£50 for two courses, £65 for three). Sunday roasts are especially popular.

As the name suggests, The Monocle Café isn't quite a restaurant, but thanks to its sheer weight of personality, it still lends itself as an important Marylebone food stop. Salads, bagels, open sandwiches, and breakfasts represent a diverse menu of international bites that can always be accompanied by something from the drink menu, whether that's artisan coffee or something stronger like the yuzu gin and tonic. As one would expect from Monocle magazine's very own drinking and dining spot, both the interior and exterior are impeccably tasteful, making for the ideal place to pause and soak up the Marylebone neighborhood.

Right next to the Old Royal Naval College Visitor Centre, The Old Brewery is a great spot for a laid-back summer drink with a view of the river and the grand buildings of the college. The all-day menu is mainly British pub classics, but with a focus on locally sourced ingredients. Inside, there's an artful, high-ceilinged dining room with a more sophisticated feel—its past life as a brewery is evident in the copper brew tanks lining one wall. Brunch is also served. 

This most traditional of old English tearooms is named for a kind of cheese tart invented near here in Tudor times. Legend has it that Henry VIII loved them so much he had the recipe kept under armed guard; this place has specialized in the authentic royal recipe for more than 120 years now and still bakes the maids by hand on the premises. Full afternoon tea is served all day. During busy periods, the tearoom may impose a minimum spend per person. 

Stroll west along the Thames, past the interesting architectural remnants of the Greenwich Steam Ferry, to this bright, friendly, waterside pub. Downstairs, you'll find upmarket pub fare—think fish pie with lobster or artichoke and mushroom hotpot with hispi cabbage—while there's a fancier, fine dining menu upstairs.

Healthy snacks and lunches are served at this bright café next to the Royal Observatory. Homemade soups and sandwiches are good for a quick refuel, or try one of the delicious stone-baked pizzas for something more substantial. Check out the fancy weather vane on the roof of this quirky octagonal building, which depicts Lord Nelson looking through his telescope.

A laid-back, airy, art deco--inspired gastropub serving up quality Modern British food, The Prince Bonaparte offers a fine selection of ales and carefully chosen wines. A stone's throw from Portobello Market, it's the perfect place for a drink or a bite to eat.

With its walls covered in Gilbert Spencer murals, the Royal Academy's café is almost as beautiful as the art hanging in the galleries. The accent is on variety, with hearty dishes like fish pie, cold cuts, and upscale salads and sandwiches. It's open daily 10:30–5:30.

London's most opulent dining salon here at The Ritz would impress even Marie Antoinette with its sumptuous Gilded Age rococo revival trompe-l'oeil frescoes, tasseled silk drapery, and towering marble columns. Sit at the late Margaret Thatcher's favorite seat overlooking Green Park (Table 1) and luxuriate in unreconstructed British haute cuisine, such as Bresse chicken with black Périgord truffles or beef Wellington carved table-side. Don't miss the crêpes suzette, which are flambéed table-side by the maître d'. The chef's five and seven-course set menus are also a delight.

A glitzy procession of famous faces, media moguls, and hedge-funders comes for the spectacle, swish service, and soaring elegance at this bustling Viennese-style grand café on Piccadilly. Located in a former Wolseley Motors luxury-car showroom, this brasserie begins its long decadent days with breakfast at 7 am (8 am on weekends) and serves Dual Monarchy delights until 11 pm (10 pm on Sunday). Don't be shy about popping by (they welcome walk-ins) for dishes like kedgeree, steak tartare, chicken soup with dumplings, or Wiener schnitzel. For dessert, go for an éclair, and don't forget to return to savor the classy afternoon tea.

This restaurant run by two alumni of celebrated The Fat Duck in Bray was recently awarded its first Michelin star for its meticulous but unfussy modern cooking that features "prime ingredients expertly prepared" and an eclectic but outstanding wine list. Starters include sweetbreads with smoked maitake mushrooms and pickled lingonberries in a cumin-infused sauce and scallops and black winter truffles in broth, while entreés like charcoal-roasted squab breast with persimmon slices or grilled venison with turnips in a pepper sauce display a similar inventiveness. An attached shop sells wine and glassware.

This wine bar and café serves up tasty modern British food within a stone's throw of the British Museum. Weather permitting, sit in its pretty Georgian courtyard.

To those in the know, this friendly neighborhood trattoria is one of the best Italian restaurants in town. The emphasis is on unpretentious, well-executed dishes bursting with verve and flavor, from fresh pappardelle with beef shin ragù to succulent charcoal-grilled black Hampshire pork chops with endives and an anchovy dressing. The atmosphere manages to be both buzzy and intimate, whether you dine on the bright, airy ground floor or in one of the basement booths. Service is pitch-perfect and there's an excellent wine list.

This canteen-style outpost of the eco-conscious chain serves mildly spiced Mexican food like a buttermilk fried chicken taco or ancho mushroom enchiladas, plus the usual burritos and quesadillas along with rainbow bowls. There's also a street-food truck parked beside the river.

Bringing the outside in, this café and restaurant is in the Wallace Collection's glass-roofed courtyard. It's open (daily 10–4:30) for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea, and for dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings (last seating is at 9:30 pm). The menu includes lamb rump, pan-roasted lemon sole, and other tasty offerings. If you don't want to strain your budget too much, you can just linger over coffee in the gorgeous surroundings.

This friendly coffee shop at St. Katharine Docks serves outstanding breakfasts (with fresh juices and baked goods) plus homemade soups, cakes, and light bites for lunch. In an area too readily associated with chains, this charming independent eatery is a breath of fresh air, particularly for long, leisurely brunches when the sun is shining.